


charming boy

by neverlxnd



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Mark Lee (NCT), Fluff, Kissing, Lucky Charms, M/M, Shy Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Soft Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Strangers to Lovers, Time Skips, oh right, theres just fluff tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 12:36:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16040615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neverlxnd/pseuds/neverlxnd
Summary: mark has a fascination with the boy, donghyuck who comes into the store he works at once a week for the same box of cereal





	charming boy

Mark rarely has problems when he’s working, but there’s always that slim moment in time that doesn’t fit into his ‘rarely’ timeline. His part time job at the small corner store, tucked away in the depths of Seoul, isn’t that hard of a job. He works the cashier, he sweeps the aisles, checks the inventory and then he locks up the store–not hard at all. But it’s a gloomy Tuesday evening when a boy walks in, wildly orange-ash hair poking out underneath his grey hoodie, and determination on his face. Mark’s immediate thought was that he was going to rob him, so he had absentmindedly reached for the telephone on the counter, but his assumption was crushed when the petite boy stalked up to the counter and slammed a box of Lucky Charms down. 

It’s an understatement to say he felt guilty about assuming the boy was a robber. 

Since the boy came in that one evening, Mark thought that that was it–boom, done, he was never going to see him again. Apparently it’s God’s wish to betray every single one of his thoughts, because after that, the boy continued to come back once a week for the same red cardboard box of sugary marshmallows. Actually, maybe it’s not such a problem but more of a confusing why-is-he-coming-back-once-a-week-for-the-same-cereal type of thing.

Mark doesn’t exactly have room to judge, if he’s going to be completely honest. He lives in a one bedroom apartment, in which his neighbour is an old woman who Mark guesses, has five cats and constantly yells at them,  _ and _ he eats a cup of noodles for dinner. Unless of course, his brother feels pitiful and happens to be going out with his boyfriend and begs for Mark to " _get out of the house, it’s been days since you moved off of the couch_ ’’. It’s not to say that Mark doesn’t appreciate his brother, it’s just that sometimes Johnny can be too pushy when it comes to Mark and his life. Like, why won’t Mark go to college parties, ( _ “It’s the college experience, you have to go!” “Did Leonardo Da Vinci go to college parties?” “Probably.” “Wait, he didn’t even go to college.” _ ). Or how Mark doesn’t do his laundry on days where he  _ finally  _ has a day to breathe. ( _ “Your clothes stink.” “You stink.” _ ). Moral of the story, Mark loves Johnny but needs him to talk less and buy more food.

The little bell hanging above the door jingles, signalling the presentation of a customer. He looks up from his homework, only to briefly smile at the owner, a small petite elderly woman with thick glasses and a grey bun sitting on top of her head. He lowers his head, focusing his attention back on his textbook.

“How you doing Ms. Wong?” Mark calls, popping the cap off of his highlighter.

“Just fine, darling. I just came to grab some milk,” Ms. Wong replies, voice distant.

Mark nods, scoffing at himself when he realizes she can’t see.

“I’ll make sure to write it down.” Mark reminds himself to  _ actually _ write it down before he forgets, so he reaches underneath the counter and pulls out a yellow notepad before scribbling down the words, ‘ _ Ms. Wong, milk, inventory _ ’.

“Thanks sweetie, don’t forget to close up early tonight. You have a test tomorrow, don’t you?” Ms. Wong shuffles up to the counter, smiling at Mark through her glasses.

“Don’t worry about that, Ms. Wong. I studied enough, I’m ready,” Mark nods.

“I’ll be on my way then, goodnight Mark.” Ms. Wong pinches his cheek before turning around and walking out the door.

Not a second later, the bell rings again, followed by a voice.

“Sorry, hun. Forgot to grab some yogurt,” Ms. Wong snickers.

“I’ll write it down,” Mark calls with a chuckle without looking up. “Anything else?”

Mark can practically feel the eye roll Ms. Wong is probably, (most likely), doing.

“Don’t tease me, I could fire you,” Ms. Wong threatens with no heat behind it.

“Please do, my fingers hurt from writing down all the items you seem to forget to grab,” Mark jokes, flipping a page in his textbook before straightening his back to look at her.

“Whatever, see you later,” Ms. Wong sighs out a chuckle, shaking her head to herself.

Mark waves at the elderly woman with a smile, bidding goodbye before dropping his head back down to continue reading his textbook. He chuckles to himself when he hears the bell ring again. It’s not the first time Ms. Wong has countlessly forgotten things.

“Back again, Ms. Wong?” Mark chuckles.

Instead of a reply, he hears shuffling and he shakes his head. His eyes move back and forth between his notes and his textbook, ignoring the dull ache.

“You know, sometimes I think you opened this store just so you can come shopping for free,” Mark grabs his highlighter, dragging the marker along a passage in the textbook.

Ms. Wong still makes no effort to respond, so he leaves it until there’s something being placed on the counter in front of him. He looks up from his textbook, not to see Ms. Wong, but a box of Lucky Charms.

“Who’s Ms. Wong?”

Mark is slightly surprised, ( _ read: deadly shocked _ ), that the orange haired boy is speaking to him, much less looking him in the eyes. Usually, the boy would drop the box on the counter, pay with his card and leave with his cereal, all without sparing Mark a glance or a single word. Tonight is different, it seems.

“Oh, um,” Mark clears his throat. “No one, she’s just the owner.”

The boy nods, shoving his hands in the pockets of his black bomber jacket. Mark finds this whole situation odd, so much that he forgets he’s supposed to be selling the box of cereal and not ogling the small boy.

With slightly flushed cheeks, Mark grabs the cereal and scans the barcode before tapping the appropriate code in for the moneris machine. The air is stiflingly awkward as Mark waits for the boy to insert his card and punch in his pincode.

“Is she your mom?” The boy suddenly asks.

Mark sputters. “Ms. Wong? No, she’s–I just, I–”

“Relax,” the boy mumbles. “It’s just a question.”

“Sorry,” Mark murmurs, ducking his head.

Why is the machine taking so long to accept the payment?

“Why are you apologizing?” The boy raises his eyebrow.

Before Mark has a chance to stutter out an excuse, the moneris machine beeps and the boy slides his card out and grabs his box of cereal.

“Later,” the boy calls over his shoulder.

The ring of the bell is the last chime Mark hears for the night, reminding himself of Ms. Wong’s instructions and closing the store early. He closes his textbook and shoves it in his backpack along with notebook before he begins sweeping the aisles. While he glares at the dust particles underneath the broom bristles, his mind wanders to the boy with the cereal earlier. It’s been roughly two months since the boy starting coming to the store and buying that same box of cereal, and the whole time he hasn’t said a  _ word _ to Mark, so he guesses what he’s wondering is–why tonight?

As he’s locking the doors, he sighs to himself. He’s overthinking this. He’s just a boy–no, he’s just a  _ customer _ . A customer that happens to be a boy with ashy-orange hair and wears mostly black clothes, who comes in once a week to buy Lucky Charms. A customer.

☾

The following week when the boy comes in, Mark isn’t studying this time. The Gods have heard his prayers and his professor happened to be sick, so to apologize he gave everyone a passing grade and assigned homework. Except, maybe when the boy walks in this time tonight, he thinks Zeus might have a problem with him and struck him with a lightning bolt. The boy is wearing a choker that looks to be made out of black velvet. And well–Mark  _ tries  _ not to stare at the boy’s neck too much, he’s just curious as to what the material of the choker is.

The boy slides the box of cereal over to Mark, leaning his side against the counter and looking out of the window. Mark clears his throat, forcing himself to  _ look. away. from. the. choker _ and scans the cereal. He waits for the moneris machine to beep, willing himself to keep his eyes away from the boy and finds himself staring out the window too. When the payment is accepted, the boy removes his card and grabs the cereal before briskly walking out of the store. Mark stares at the door in confusion, a little bit of shock, but mostly confusion. Just last week the boy was asking him questions, making small conversation,  _ looking him in the eyes _ and the boy hadn’t even glanced his way once tonight. Did the boy catch him staring at his choker and get creeped out? What if the boy was a homophobe and thought he was trying to come onto him, or something? Did he smell? If that was the case, maybe Johnny finally had a point.

And maybe he shouldn’t have spoken too soon because when he gets home after work, Johnny is sitting on his two-seat sofa in the living room with a box of pizza on the coffee table and his boyfriend in his lap.

“You know, I gave you that spare key in case of emergencies,” Mark sighs, slipping his shoes off and going into the kitchen.

“This  _ is  _ an emergency. Your place is a mess and your fridge is crying out for help.” He can  _ hear  _ the grin in Johnny’s voice.

Mark grabs a glass to quickly fill it with water before moving back into the living room.

“So you just came here to tell me that, or?” Mark purses his lips, sitting down in his beanbag chair across from Johnny and his boyfriend.

“We came to give you food,” Johnny’s boyfriend smiles. “I thought it was a good idea, but Johnny probably only came just to insult you.”

Mark smiles, rolling his eyes. “Well, thanks Taeil. I wish you were my brother instead of my brother- _ in law _ .”

Johnny glares before reaching forward and grabbing a slice of pizza.

“We’re not married yet, asshole,” Johnny says, taking a bite.

Mark doesn’t miss the blush on Taeil’s cheeks, but he chooses to ignore it since Taeil really is the only one out of his friends that  _ doesn’t _ harass him. Speaking of–

“Do I smell?” Mark asks.

Johnny cocks his head while Taeil raises an eyebrow.

“Well,” Johnny says with a pause. “Yeah.”

Taeil rolls his eyes before slipping his legs off of Johnny’s lap and walking over to Mark. Without hesitance, Taeil leans in and sniffs. Johnny raises his eyebrows and stares with a strange look. Mark watches with a quizzical expression, wondering why he was willing to let his brother’s boyfriend smell him to prove a theory about a boy he barely knows. Taeil steps back with a thoughtful expression before sitting back down and plopping his feet back in Johnny’s lap.

“Well?” Mark asks after a beat.

Taeil shrugs. “I don’t know, I’m sick so my nose is plugged.”

Mark drops his head backwards and groans before grabbing a slice of pizza and listening to Johnny and Taeil bicker about nothing.

It’s really not his fault for wanting to find out why the boy suddenly got so quiet, it might be seen as a little creepy but what’s he supposed to do? Let it go? Johnny raised him better than that.

☾

It’s a week after the sudden quiet from the boy and Mark is seconds away from snapping his neck from how many times he’s looked up at the bell on the door every time there’s a customer. It’s around nine in the evening when the bell rings for the nth time and Mark decides not to look up this time for the pure sake of his disappointment. When the familiar red box of Lucky Charms ends up on the counter, his entire face flushes and he can feel his skin beginning to sweat.

“Hey,” Mark blurts.

The boy keeps his attention on his wallet, focused on pulling out his card. When no one else responds, the boy slowly lifts his head and looks from his left to his right.

“Are you talking to me?” The boy asks, raised eyebrows.

Mark purses his lips and tilts his head in confusion. “You’re the only one in here?”

The boy contemplates this, looking around the store as if Mark would lie, before turning back to him and nodding.

“Right.”

Mark wants to keep talking to him, he wants to ask what his name is, how old is he, why he comes to buy a box of Lucky Charms once a week. More importantly, he wants to know why the boy was so talkative one day, then acted like they never spoke the following week. Instead,

“Am I smelly?”

Of all of the things Mark wanted to ask, the only thing his mouth betrayed his to say was  _ that _ . The boy squints his eyes and cautiously slides his card in the moneris machine.

“Is that a serious question?” The boy asks, tapping the buttons without looking up.

Mark can feel his cheeks flush, nonetheless he shrugs.

“Yeah, it is.”

The boy finally looks up from the moneris machine with the tiniest hint of a smile. It’s only a couple seconds but the boy keeps his eyes trained on Mark, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t starting to feel self-conscious.

“Are you some sort of creep?” The boy finally says.

Mark frowns and stutters out, “n-no!”

“I mean, I kind of let it slide when you wouldn’t stop looking that day I wore the choker, but now it’s getting a bit cre–”

“Aha!” Mark squeaks. “So you did notice me.”

“Of course I noticed you.”

Mark’s heart slowly begins to race with question.

“You work here, how could I not?”

And Mark’s heart plummets. The boy grabs his cereal before turning on his heel and beginning to walk out.

“Wait,” Mark calls. The boy turns around looks him in the eyes. Mark’s not sure if there’s a sudden draft in the store, or if it’s chilly because of the boy’s brown eyes. “You never answered me.”

The boy furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Mark wafts his arms in the air, gesturing to his body. When the boy seems not to understand yet, his cheeks grow hot and he thinks it’s probably a new record in his life of how many times he’s blushed in the shortest amount of time.

“Am I smelly?” Mark repeats, refusing to meet the boy’s eyes. But then he realizes that they don’t even know each other’s names, so it would be absurd to ask a stranger if he’s smelly. “Wait, no I mean–what’s your name?”

When no response comes, he looks up at the boy and sees the petite looking at him with a perplexed expression.

“No.”

Mark thinks he says no to both questions, but then the boy looks over his shoulder.

“Donghyuck.”

Donghyuck abruptly turns around and walks out the door with the ring of the bell. When Mark gets home that evening, he makes sure to remind himself that Donghyuck didn’t speak to him that one night because of his creepiness,  _ not _ his smell. Although, he’s sure that’s worse than being ignored for being smelly. His brother seems to get a kick out of this when he slips up, accidentally mentioning that he thought he smelled bad to a customer the previous day.

“You really asked a customer if you’re smelly?” Johnny snickers.

Even though Taeil is the nicest guy Mark has known, he too finds it funny. Mark commends him for at least  _ trying _ to hold in his laugh.

“It just came out! I was nervous and I just wanted to know–”

Mark stops himself when he realizes that telling Johnny will only unravel a year’s worth of teasing, mockery and suffering on his end. So he snaps his mouth shut and shrugs when Johnny and Taeil look at him quizzically.

“I’m going to bed, you guys can see yourselves out. Night!”

“It’s only ten!”

“I said goodnight.”

☾

It comes as a surprise when Donghyuck comes in, a Saturday night at 7pm. Usually the orange-haired boy comes in at around 8 or 9, never too early, never late. Mark finds it a little weird that he’s questioning whether or not a stranger coming in for a box of cereal is too early, or too late.

“You got a haircut,” Donghyuck’s eyes are aimed higher, focused in on Mark’s hair.

As if he forgot himself, Mark reaches his hand up to his hair and pulls a strand down in between his eyes to look at it. As per usual, Johnny pestered him yesterday  _ all day _ to get a haircut because apparently it’s gotten too long and he looks like Jesus. But maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, so long as Donghyuck would stop staring at him with doe-y brown eyes and parted lips.

“Yeah, I guess I did,” Mark replies.

Donghyuck raises his eyebrows as he turns on his heel to go down the familiar aisle.

“You guess?” He hears Donghyuck mumble.

Mark nods, rolling his eyes at his habit of answering with actions when people can't see.

“Yes, I mean, yeah I got a haircut.”

“Suits you. You were kind of starting to look like–”

“Like Jesus?” Mark finishes.

Donghyuck’s orange-ash hair comes into view when he pokes his head out from the side of the aisle.

“I was gonna say some punk rock band member, but I guess that works too,” Donghyuck snickers.

It’s the first time Mark’s seen the boy smile, even if it’s close lipped and short, it’s a few seconds of glory that’s Mark’s witnessed.

“That would’ve been kinda hot though,” Donghyuck’s voice carries throughout the empty store and Mark freezes upon hearing that. Then Donghyuck’s face comes into view again and Mark can’t help the blush that creeps up his neck. “By the way, where are the Lucky Charms?”

The question doesn’t seem like a question because of the glint in Donghyuck’s eyes, because of the way Mark suddenly seems to get lost in the way Donghyuck’s skin is beautiful and tan even in this unflattering dim lighting. But then he shakes his head when he backtracks and realizes what Donghyuck just asked.

“What?”

“The Charms, dude,” Donghyuck waves his hands, as if to explain what he was trying to say. “There’s none on the shelf.”

Mark tilts his head in confusion before hopping off of the stool and walking out from behind the counter to the cereal aisle. Low and behold, there’s no Lucky Charms on the shelf.

“Huh,” Mark hums.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck agrees. 

“Ms. Wong must’ve forgot to put it on the inventory list. She does it all the time, sorry,” Mark apologizes.

Donghyuck nods, mumbling an ‘it’s okay’. But after a beat of silence, the boy turns on his heel.

“Hey, wait,” Mark calls.

Donghyuck turns around with a furrow in his eyebrows. Mark is unsure why he told the boy to wait, it was completely and solely his mouth’s fault because there’s absolutely nothing going on in his brain when he parted his lips. That is until he lets his mouth fall open again.

“Where are you going?”

And  _ really _ _? _  As if Donghyuck’s suspicion of Mark being a creep wasn’t high enough, he had to increase it by asking  _ that _ . Mark has never wanted anything more than for the floor to open up and swallow him, take him to the depths of hell where he knows Satan would have a good laugh or two.

“Um,” Donghyuck mumbles. “Back home? Why, you wanna come?” He jokes.

Even though he knows Donghyuck is joking, he still flushes in embarrassment. He rubs the back of his neck nervously before shrugging.

“I just–”

Mark stops himself when he thinks of an idea–well as much as an  _ idea _ he can form. It’s dumb.  _ Really _ dumb, but for some reason Mark can’t just let this boy go without getting Lucky Charms from him. So–

“Do you want my box?” Mark asks.

Donghyuck stills, lips parting in surprise. If the boy wasn’t screaming signs for him to stay away from Mark, he should be now because he’s really just digging his own grave.

“You have a box of Lucky Charms?” Donghyuck asks, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Mark nods.

_ No _ , he screams internally. Technically, Mark doesn’t have a box at home. He’s not really into Lucky Charms, he’s more of a Rice Krispies kind of guy. But that doesn’t mean he can’t quickly go to the store to buy a box and pretend it’s been sitting in his cupboard. What Donghyuck doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

“Are you trying to kidnap me?” Donghyuck squints his eyes, pointing his finger at Mark.

Mark flushes and stumbles on his words. “No! I’m only 19, why would I kidnap you?”

Donghyuck shrugs. “I don’t know. Isn’t that around the time when people start filtering out into the creeps and the normies?”

Mark stares at Donghyuck blankly. “What? You’re making no sense.”

“See, now that’s what a creep would say to get me off track,” Donghyuck grins.

It shouldn’t make Mark smile, with being accused of being a creep, but the way Donghyuck’s eyes seem to light up in mischief, he can’t help but grin back.

“I swear, I’m not trying to kidnap you,” Mark raises his hands in defense.

Donghyuck nods. “Mhm, that’s what a creep would say.”

Mark throws his hands up in frustration, followed by a deep sigh. “Do you want the cereal or not?”

Donghyuck seems to contemplate this, tapping his chin and looking at Mark as if he were a science experiment.

Donghyuck shrugs. “What the hell, why not. But first,” the boy lifts a finger. “I have to go home, so I can take a picture and text my friends.”

Mark furrows his eyebrows and stares at Donghyuck in confusion. “Why?”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and turns on his heel. “So my friends know what I was wearing when I went missing,” speaking as if it’s the most obvious answer in the world.

This time it’s Mark’s turn to roll his eyes, but he follows until he’s seated behind the counter once again. Donghyuck is by the door, still and looking at Mark.

“What?” Mark swallows, hoping the boy doesn’t notice how nervous he gets just from once glance.

Donghyuck must notice this, because he smirks. “How am I supposed to know where you live, genius?”

Huh. Mark never thought of that. He stumbles out from behind the counter and pulls him phone from his pocket, unlocking it and gently handing it over to Donghyuck.

“Give me your number and I’ll text you my address,” Mark says.

Donghyuck stares at the phone for a moment, probably asking himself why he was going to go to a stranger’s house later solely for a box of Lucky Charms. If Mark was in his position, he’d run. But he has good intentions, he’s not some pervert. He just wants Donghyuck to get his box of Lucky Charms.

With a sigh, Donghyuck begins tapping on the keyboard, punching in his phone number. When Donghyuck hands his phone back, heading out the door without a word, Mark chuckles at the contact name he left.

_ charming boy _

He shakes his head, without forgetting to send him a quick text, letting Donghyuck know his number as well.

Mark isn’t one to slack off during work, not one to make excuses because Johnny raised him to be hard-working and assertive, but he figures since he’s never closed up the store early for himself before, he can do it just this once. So he does. Mark makes sure the floors are swept, the cash register is locked and the lights are off before he books it down the street in the direction of his apartment building. It’s only a few blocks but he’s heaving by the time he arrives at his front door. In a haste, he pulls his keys out and goes to unlock it only to find–it’s already unlocked. He twists the door handle and pushes the door open, internally screaming with joy when he sees Johnny and Taeil sitting on his couch watching netflix.

“Johnny!” Mark screeches, startling the couple. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

Johnny raises an eyebrow, after calming himself and Taeil down. “You are?”

Mark stumbles over the carpet, grabbing their hands and pulling them to their feet.

“Come on, let’s go shopping,” Mark says, out of breath.

“O-kay?” Johnny mumbles.

Mark is the first one out the door, already grabbing Johnny’s car keys and heading downstairs. Johnny and Taeil follow behind, mumbling about Mark’s sudden enthusiasm.

“Come on!” Mark groans, bouncing in his seat when the couple make it downstairs.

Johnny rolls his eyes and jogs over to the driver’s seat, followed by Taeil hauling himself into the back seat. Mark practically keens when Johnny starts the car and drives to their nearest supermarket. The whole ride there is quiet, save for the jostling of garbage at Mark’s feet.

“So tell me why you’re suddenly so interested in grocery shopping,” Johnny says. “Not to mention it’s ten in the evening.”

Mark rolls his eyes. “You said you wanted me to get out, do more, take care of myself–”

“Dragging me and Taeil to a supermarket, 10:30 at night wasn’t what I meant, but at least you’re outside,” Johnny interrupts.

When they pull into the parking lot, Mark unbuckles his seatbelt before he can blink and turns to Johnny.

“Stay here, I’ll only be a sec,” Mark hushes.

Johnny leans his head closer to Mark. “Why are you whispering?”

Mark averts his gaze to the dashboard before shrugging and hopping out of the truck and into the store. His feet carry him as fast as walking can go, turning down the cupboard’s aisle and keeping his eyes peeled for the red box of Lucky Charms. Once he spots the box, he grabs it and holds onto it like a lifeline until he gets to the checkout. And when he’s seated back in Johnny’s car, he doesn’t miss the judgemental look he gets from his brother and the questionable one he gets from Taeil. Without a word, Johnny starts the car and mumbles something under his breath that he can’t quite make out. His phone buzzes in his pocket and he digs through his jeans for it, squeezing it out of the pocket before unlocking it and opening his messages. It’s a text from Donghyuck.

_ My friends all know now, so I’m ready _

Mark tries, he really does, to wait a minute to reply back but his fingers move to their own accord and he taps out a reply and sends his address.

_ On my way, kidnapper _

Mark rolls his eyes, a half smile on his face. He taps Johnny’s shoulder.

“Can you hurry?”

If Johnny doesn’t end up visiting him tomorrow, he'll know  _ exactly _ why and he’s not entirely worried about that right now. So when Johnny glares at him, he only smiles back before looking back out the window at the passing trees. Just as Johnny pulls up to the apartment building, Mark gets another text from Donghyuck.

_ Get your weapons ready, I’m like five minutes away _

He quickly sends the middle finger emoji before pocketing his phone and hopping out. When Johnny shuts off the engine and Taeil unbuckles his seatbelt, Mark’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise.

“Uh,” Mark murmurs. “Actually, could you guys leave? I have a, um–friend coming over.”

Johnny and Taeil exchange glances, probably a soulmate thing because Taeil stares at little too long and Johnny nods before turning back to Mark.

“Mark,” his brother starts. “You’re not doing anything...illegal, are you?”

For some reason, Mark feels like he  _ is _ doing something illegal with how much lying he’s done in the past half hour but he feels the cardboard cereal box wrapped in the plastic bag, heavy in his hands and he shakes his head.

“No! Of course not, are you crazy? What am I gonna do with a box of cereal?” Mark frowns.

Johnny rolls his eyes and starts the car, waiting until Taeil is seated in the passenger to shift the car in drive. Mark watches his brother lean his head out of the window before yelling,

“If something happens, call me first! Don’t call the cops!”

Mark closes his eyes in silence, sighing to himself before remembering that he’s been standing here for at least two minutes, so he has three left until Donghyuck shows up. Instead of waiting for the elevator, he takes the stairs (two at a time) and by the time he’s unlocking his front door, his chest is heaving and he faceplants himself onto his couch, the box of cereal still in his hands. As soon as he closes his eyes, he’s tempted to go to sleep but the sudden knock on the door jolts him awake and any trace of tiredness is gone now. He sets the cereal box down on the counter in his kitchen before moving towards the front door and opening it.

“Hello?” Mark asks, even though it’s clear who it is.

He pulls the door back further to reveal Donghyuck, small and pretty, with his hands behind his back. It’s odd, Mark thinks, seeing Donghyuck somewhere else besides that dingy store for once. Don’t get him wrong, he loves Ms. Wong and the store, he’s just surprised Donghyuck actually came.

“I believe you promised me something?” Donghyuck asks, leaning against the doorframe.

Mark is confused for a second before remembering the cereal and excusing himself to grab it from the kitchen counter. He returns in less than a second, holding the box of Lucky Charms between them. Donghyuck eyes the box then Mark, it’s a questioning gaze, the one Johnny uses when Mark’s done something that he’s concerned about–kinda like earlier tonight.

“What?”

Donghyuck gestures to the box. “It’s unopened.”

Mark gapes at the box, all in it’s fresh and untouched glory. 

“Oh yeah,” he nervously chuckles. “I never got around to eating it, so that’s why I offered to give it to you.”

Donghyuck is trying to hold back his smile, choosing to look away for a moment before looking back at Mark.

“Right.”

The silence between them is heavy, like there’s something else Mark should say, like there’s something Donghyuck should ask.

“You’re kinda weird,” Donghyuck suddenly says as he takes the box from Mark.

That’s not what Mark was expecting but he  _ did  _ just drive across the city to buy a box of cereal he doesn’t eat, just to pretend he eats it so he can give it away.

“Well, you just walked to my house for a box of cereal without even asking my name once, so who’s the real weirdo here?” Mark retorts.

Donghyuck chuckles, low and short. “Touche.”

“Mark,” he suddenly says.

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow.

“My name is Mark,” he clarifies with a smile.

“Well,  _ Mark _ . I’m glad you’re not a kidnapper, and thanks for the cereal I guess.”

Then Donghyuck turns around and begins walking down the stairs. Mark’s still standing in his doorway, looking at the staircase as if Donghyuck will come back up and hang out in his apartment with him–which is totally unrealistic as they  _ just _ learned each other’s names, but not entirely something he isn’t wishing for.

☾

Since Mark’s burst of energy from that night, Johnny and Taeil thought it was reasonable to  _ actually _ take him out to grocery shop–in the daylight this time. Johnny likes to call it a ‘breakdown’ but Johnny also thinks the earth is flat, so what does he know?

Mark is looking down at the list Johnny gave him when he bumps into something–which turns out to be someone. It’s not just  _ someone _ , no, God wouldn’t be that nice to Mark. The someone he’s bumped into, making them knock their tiny basket onto the floor is none other than Donghyuck. Mark is shocked for a moment, wondering just how much bad shit he’s done in his previous life to deserve constantly embarrassing himself in front of this boy. Then, his conscious kicks in and he hurries to bend down and help Donghyuck.

“I’m sorry, I was looking at my list, I should’ve been watching where I was going,” Mark apologizes, picking up a pack of fruit gushers and placing them in his basket.

“Yeah, no kidding,” Donghyuck mumbles.

When they’ve picked up everything, they stand and the frustration on Donghyuck’s face melts away when his eyes meet Mark’s. Now, he’s not a love expert, but he’s pretty sure that has to mean  _ something _ , right?

“Oh, hey Mark,” Donghyuck grins.

The boy is dressed in a blue blouse, one with palm trees and leaves, the ends of his shirt tucked into his black jeans. Mark suddenly likes palm trees and the colour blue.

“Hi, Donghyuck.”

“Grocery shopping?” Donghyuck asks.

“Huh?”

Donghyuck points at the list in Mark’s hand, eyes lighting up when Mark registers the connection and flushes.

“Oh yeah, my brother kinda forced me to go out with him today. Something about being an adult, ‘fending’ for myself.” Mark obviously leaves out the parts where Johnny had said Lucky Charms and a cup of noodles isn’t living, but Donghyuck doesn’t need to know that.

“You always come here?” Mark asks.

Donghyuck nods. “Usually.” There’s a beat of silence before Donghyuck speaks again. “I didn’t know you have a brother,” Donghyuck tilts his head, and Mark shouldn’t think it’s pretty the way the boy’s orange hair falls into his eyes and over his lashes–but he does.

Mark shrugs, looking away. “You don’t know a lot of things about me, and I don’t know very many about you either.”

Donghyuck taps his chin. “Is that an offer?”

“For what exactly?” Mark raises a challenging eyebrow.

“I don’t know, you tell me Mark.”

Mark almost forgets that they’re in the middle of an aisle, where there’s  _ people _ but before he has time to back away, Donghyuck does.

“I’m gonna go, I have to meet my friends soon,” Donghyuck says.

Mark nods, his head feeling a bit dizzy from the whiplash of Donghyuck’s mood.

“Yeah, no. That’s okay. I’ll see you next week?”

Donghyuck nods, skirting around Mark and mumbling a ‘bye’. Mark stares at the back of Donghyuck’s head until he disappears around the corner and Mark is left starting at nothing. He wants to rewind and answer Donghyuck’s question, but what would he say? He’s not entirely sure what he was offering in the first place.

“Mark!”

He looks up at his name being called, eyes wide until he realizes it’s only Johnny, followed by Taeil hauling a cart full of food.

“This doesn’t look like the frozen foods section,” Johnny lectures. “Are you even looking at the list?”

Mark frowns. “Yeah, I was. I just–ran into a friend.”

It feels weird calling Donghyuck a friend, mostly because they just met but because they’re past the point of being friends but aren’t  _ actually _ friends. He shakes his head–he’s not making any sense. It’s only when Johnny grabs the list from his hand and gestures for him to follow that Mark obliges, quickly halting his steps when he realizes that there’s a box of Lucky Charms on the shelf. If Donghyuck said he usually comes here for food, why does he come by the corner store for Lucky Charms?

☾

The next time Donghyuck comes in, it’s raining. The downpour of water is heavy, thick almost like hail and Mark wonders why Donghyuck would go out of his way for a box of cereal when it’ll probably be soggy cardboard and a plastic bag of marshmallows by the time he gets home. Nonetheless, Donghyuck places the cereal box on the counter and waits for Mark to start up the moneris machine. He doesn’t say anything, and neither does Donghyuck. There’s something off, Mark thinks. The downward drag of Donghyuck’s eyes, because even on his bad days, the boy’s eyes are usually turned up and cheerful. Mark almost doesn’t say anything–keyword,  _ almost _ . Donghyuck is halfway out of the door when Mark speaks up.

“Are you okay?”

Donghyuck stalls in the middle of the doorway before turning to Mark and nodding.

“I mean,” Mark starts. “You don’t look okay. Is there something wrong?”

Donghyuck looks like he’s fighting with himself in his head, like he’s weighing options as to whether or not to tell Mark what’s wrong.

“It’s nothing, I’ll be fine,” Donghyuck murmurs, and Mark almost doesn’t catch it with how hard the rain is coming down.

Mark nods, slowly and then altogether. “Well, if you want Lucky Charms, you know where I live–wait, that sounded creepy.”

And Mark swears he hears a giggle underneath the harsh raindrops outside, followed by Donghyuck’s soft voice.

“Bye Mark.”

Mark takes notice in how Donghyuck said ' _I'll be fine",_ rather than  _"I'm fine."_

☾

Apparently Mark is dense, Johnny concludes. He does end up slipping up front of Johnny, telling him about Donghyuck, and he can never hide anything from Johnny. Years of growing up with him and maturing has taught him that.

“It’s obvious! He likes you,” Johnny says, as if it  _ is  _ the most obvious thing.

Mark frowns. “No he doesn’t.”

“Why else would he buy Lucky Charms from the store  _ you  _ work at when there’s a full shelf of them at the grocery store?” Johnny points out, staring at Mark with intensity.

“Maybe he just lives closer?” Mark reasons, knowing fully well that is most likely, probably  _ not _ the case.

“And who trudges through a rainstorm for a box of  _ cereal _ ?” Johnny gapes.

“Okay, it wasn’t a rainstorm,” Mark argues, dodging the question.

This time Taeil rolls his eyes, and Taeil rarely does that so maybe they’re onto  _ something _ .

☾

It turns out that Johnny and Taeil were maybe– _ possibly  _ onto something. It’s a Friday night and Mark is getting a head start on his weekend plans. Which happen to be just–well, laying on his couch and ordering takeout while he binge watches the last Airbender, even though he’s finished it three times. He’s on the fifth episode when his phone rings and he quirks an eyebrow. He fishes his phone from his sweatpants, ignoring his conscious telling him something is off. It’s unusual for Johnny to be calling him on a Friday night, usually his brother has plans with Taeil already. Except when he brings his phone to his face, it’s not  _ big brother  _ that takes up his screen space, it’s  _ charming boy _ . He almost drops his phone on his face upon reading Donghyuck’s contact name, too startled to even answer it. But on the fourth ring, he decides that this probably isn’t a dream, so he answers. Even when he accepts the call and puts the phone to his ear, it’s quiet and almost like he never answered. He lifts the phone from his face to make sure he actually  _ did _ press accept, but then he hears breathing on the other end.

“Donghyuck?” Mark tries.

Donghyuck’s breathing is soft, and so quiet that Mark can barely tell it’s there.

“Hyuck, you there?” Mark asks again.

The nickname slips out and he thanks the heavens that Donghyuck can’t see him and how hard he’s blushing right now.

“Yeah, yeah I’m here.”

There’s silence again until Donghyuck heaves a heavy sigh through the phone.

“Where are you?” Donghyuck asks.

“At home, why?”

“I’m coming over,” is all Donghyuck says before he hangs up and leaves Mark surprised.

He sits in confusion on his couch in his sweatpants for what feels like forever, until he realizes that his place is, in Johnny’s words,  _ a mess _ . He stumbles off of the couch and starts picking up the clothes laying around his apartment, it’s a question whether or not they’re clean as he shoves them in a random basket in his room. He’s in the middle of stacking dishes in the dishwasher he rarely uses when a soft knock on the door breaks the quiet chaos in his apartment. When he dusts his hands off on his sweatpants, he realizes that he spent most of his time cleaning that he forgot to change. He contemplates whether or not he should quickly change his pants, but quickly dismisses the idea when another knock comes. With a sigh, he moves to the door and takes a deep breath before opening the door. Mark’s not sure what he was expecting to see when Donghyuck showed up at his door, but what he wasn’t expecting was for two things to be happening.

  1. Donghyuck is wearing that choker he wore the one night at the store, not to mention the ripped jeans and fishnets poking through the rips underneath.



     2. Donghyuck is drunk, the smell too familiar to pass as something else and the lazy grin on the boy’s face.

“Donghyuck, are you okay?” Mark asks, watching Donghyuck close his eyes blissfully and lean against the door frame.

“Hyuck,” he repeats.

This time, Donghyuck hums and opens his eyes. There’s a gloss to them, a haze that Mark’s never seen before. Granted, he’s never really _hung_ _out_ with Donghyuck before, but that’s besides the point.

“What are you doing here?” Mark asks, widening the gap of the door. “Why are you drunk?”

Donghyuck notices Mark opening the door for him so he walks in, gently breezing past his shoulder.

“You ask too many questions,” Donghyuck mumbles.

“Ones that you don’t answer apparently,” Mark mutters, closing the door and following Donghyuck into the living room.

The boy is sprawled out on his couch, eyes closed and his forearm covering his eyes.

“Why is it so dark in your house? Are you  _ actually _ a creep?” Donghyuck asks.

Mark rolls his eyes, sitting down on his beanbag chair.

“I was in the middle of a marathon when you called,” he points to the paused netflix screen. 

Donghyuck squints at the tv screen, nodding when he sees the title.  “Nice.”

“So why are  _ you _ coming to my house on a Friday night? Drunk, may I add,” Mark teases.

Donghyuck glares. “You may not add.”

Silence fills the air between them and Mark’s not sure if he crossed a line or not, either way it’s stifling awkward and he’s in his own apartment so it’s not like he can run anywhere. Well–there  _ is _ his room.

“You didn’t really answer my question,” Mark scratches the back of his head, waiting for the fire behind Donghyuck’s eyes to glare at him.

Except it doesn’t come. Donghyuck looks at him with a glint in his eyes, almost like there’s a wet layer across his eyes.

“I don’t know,” Donghyuck answers truthfully, looking back at the paused screen. “I went to a party and–” Donghyuck stops there, seeming to try form sentences. “I did something dumb and I guess you were the first place I thought of.”

Mark nods, waiting a second before answering. “What about home?”

“It’s too lonely.”

There’s something heartbreakingly sad about how honest Donghyuck sounds, even though he’s drunk, he sounds like this is all too real and as if he feels this way all of the time.

“Do you have any Lucky Charms?” Donghyuck suddenly asks.

Mark chuckles, indulging in the way he finds the boy endearing. He stands up from his beanbag and sighs.

“I honestly don’t think so,” Mark says, holding his breath.

Donghyuck frowns.

“Why not? I thought you ate the cereal?”

“Well,” Mark starts. “Maybe I just  _ said _ that.”

He can hear Donghyuck giggle– _ giggle _ before there’s shuffling and before he knows it there’s two small feet and a warm body in front of him.

“So you just told me you eat Lucky Charms, even though you don’t?” Donghyuck grins coyly.

Mark takes a chance and looks up from his feet and straight ahead, where Donghyuck is. Mark’s first initial reaction is that,  _ yeah this was a bad idea _ , but that melts away as soon as Donghyuck smiles at him. It’s not like his close lipped smiles he’s given Mark before, it’s teeth, it’s lips spread, it’s eyes crinkled. It’s a scary feeling, Mark thinks. He’s never felt so close to someone yet not know very much about them. Mark takes a step back and clears his throat.

“Why do you like Lucky Charms so much, anyway?” Mark changes topics, walking towards the kitchen.

Behind him, Donghyuck sighs but Mark doesn’t catch it.

“I don’t know,” Donghyuck says.

Mark snickers. “So you have an obsession with Lucky Charms and you don’t know why?”

Donghyuck sits on a stool and leans his head down to lay on top of his arms that are nestled on the kitchen countertop. Mark senses the sudden quietness, turning around to face Donghyuck instead of the cupboard filled with cereal (thanks to Johnny).

“Hey,” Mark starts softly, standing beside Donghyuck. “If you don’t want to talk about, you don’t have to.”

“Well,” Donghyuck sighs, then after a beat. “My parents used to eat Lucky Charms with me every morning. But they’ve been gone on and off doing business abroad since I was thirteen.”

“Oh.” 

It’s all that comes out of Mark’s mouth. Mostly because he wasn’t expecting that kind of privacy to be shared with him, and secondly because he understands Donghyuck. He wasn’t raised by his parents, he was raised by Johnny. So he could relate to  _ some _ of Donghyuck’s pain.

“I’m sorry. When was the last time you saw them?” Mark asks.

Donghyuck, in his tipsy haze, slowly lifts his eyes until they’re on Mark’s lips. For a second, Mark blushes and thinks that he wouldn’t mind Donghyuck staring longer than he did for that millisecond before trailing up Mark’s face and locking eyes with him.

“I don’t know. Couple months ago?” Donghyuck sighs.

Silence is a good friend of theirs, but this time feels different, Mark thinks. It’s comforting, the same solace he finds when he comes home and stares at his ceiling when he lays on his bed. Suddenly, Donghyuck chuckles, tucking his head so his eyes are hidden from Mark. For a moment, Mark thinks he’s crying but then Donghyuck lifts his head and he’s laughing.

“Something funny?” Mark pries, poking Donghyuck’s arm.

Donghyuck shakes his head, straightening his back so he’s at eye length with Mark’s chest.

“I just told you something that took me a whole year to tell my close friends, isn’t that weird?” Donghyuck chuckles.

Mark huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, that is kinda weird.”

They spend the rest of the night watching the last Airbender while eating Mark’s favourite cereal instead. (“ _ It’s so dry.” “So is your humour.” _ ). They argue over who sleeps on the couch and who sleeps on Mark’s bed, only to end up both falling asleep on the bed.

Mark always forgets that Johnny has a spare key, one he regrets giving to him because he clearly doesn’t understand the concept of an  _ emergency key _ .

“So this is Lucky Charms boy,” Johnny smirks, one hand on his waist and a bag of breakfast sandwiches in his other hand.

Mark only groans and aimlessly throws a pillow at him, failing miserably. Breakfast ended up being  _ slightly _ awkward, due to the added member Johnny and his billion questions.

“How old are you?” Johnny asks, grabbing a napkin before wiping his mouth.

Donghyuck looks at Mark shyly before turning back to Johnny, but before he can open his mouth Mark beats him to it.

“Johnny, don’t you have Taeil to bother?” Mark asks, hopefully taking the attention off of Donghyuck.

When Johnny rolls his eyes and begins to blabber about Taeil and the wedding plans, Mark knows he’s done asking Donghyuck questions. Mark can feel the gratefulness from the boy with the way he spares Mark a toothy smile and a gentle kick to his foot underneath the table.

“You’re not actually letting Taeil do everything, are you?” Mark gapes.

Since Johnny  _ finally _ proposed to Taeil last month, Mark knows for a  _ fact _ that Johnny would be the first to ease out on the decorative side of planning a wedding. (“ _ I just want to marry him, why do I need to pick between red or pink roses?” _ )

Johnny glares. “Of course not, Taeil just wants to do decorations by himself. I tried helping,  _ believe me _ .”

Mark rolls his eyes, smiling when he hears Donghyuck giggle. He misses the way Johnny looks between him and Donghyuck, a knowing grin on his face.

After Johnny leaves, with a promise to be back, Donghyuck stands up from the couch.

“I should go now, I have some assignments I need to finish,” Donghyuck sighs.

Mark stands up, following the boy to the door. Donghyuck opens the door and turns around, standing in the doorway while Mark leans his head against the door. It’s funny, Mark’s never thought he’d have Donghyuck on his doorstep, never mind on his  _ couch _ .

“Thanks for letting me stay, I know I’m a bit…” Donghyuck picks at the hem of his shirt, (Mark’s shirt), trying to find a fitting word. “–much, so thanks.”

“You weren’t too much of anything,” Mark smiles. “Except you stole the blanket too much last night, but that’s it.”

Donghyuck laughs, loud and clear and Mark’s day suddenly seems brighter. With the literal  _ sun _ standing in front of him and all. There’s no windows outside of Mark’s apartment, yet Donghyuck still manages to glow in the dingy hallway of his apartment building. Donghyuck’s different from the one he met last night. This Donghyuck is happier, cheerful. It’s only then that Mark realizes that maybe there is no ‘Donghyuck on this day’ or ‘Donghyuck on that day’, he’s just himself everyday. Whether that be sad, upset, happy, angry. And Mark doesn’t really care, because he wants all of it.

“Do you wanna come to my brother’s engagement party?” Mark blurts.

Donghyuck stops smiling, surprise taking over his face and lifting his head off of the door frame. The boy nervously bites his lip, suddenly finding solace in the looking at the floor instead of Mark’s comfortable eyes.

“Me? Why me?” Donghyuck asks.

Mark shrugs. Except he knows why, he knows  _ exactly _ why.

“Maybe because I want you to help me play pranks on Johnny all night?” Mark jokes.

Donghyuck’s shoulders look less tense, his smile slowly building up.

“Do you really think your brother’s boyfriend will let you?”

Mark scoffs. “Taeil loves me, don’t worry. If anything, he’ll be the one recording.”

Donghyuck bubbles out another laugh, hand coming up to cover his mouth. Mark wants to tell him to stop that habit he’s noticed from the younger, because his smile is the brightest thing about him–besides his personality.

“So is that a yes?” Mark asks.

Donghyuck hums. “I’ll think about it.”

“Better than a no,” Mark shrugs.

“Bye Mark,” Donghyuck rolls his eyes, turning on his heel.

Mark watches him go down the stairs, just like last time. A fond smile on his lips and a lidded gaze on his eyes.

“Stop staring, creep,” Donghyuck calls, his voice echoing in the stairwell.

Mark laughs once before closing the door and flopping himself on the couch. It smells of Donghyuck’s perfume and the slightest stench of beer, but he finds himself delving his nose deeper into it and falling back asleep.

☾

Mark should be concerned with the sweat layered on Johnny’s forehead, but instead he finds himself laughing in the corner with Donghyuck. His brother has been struggling to find a vase of pink roses for the past twenty minutes, Taeil scolding him once and twice from Taeil’s mother. It’s not that Mark finds Johnny in distress funny, it’s just hilarious because Johnny has been walking past the vase since he started looking.

“A vase?  _ Vase _ full of pink roses, how the hell does a vase of pink roses go  _ missing _ ,” Johnny mutters under his breath, pacing back and forth in his white button-up and black dress pants.

“Your brother is actually kinda hot,” Donghyuck suddenly says, a dynamic change in their topic.

Mark presses himself away from Donghyuck and disgust scrunches up his face.

“That’s gross,” Mark mumbles, pretending that he doesn't wish Donghyuck had said that about him.

Donghyuck pouts, moving in close to Mark’s side and pinching his cheek.

“Aw, are you jealous? Don’t worry, Mark, you look handsome.”

If Donghyuck’s goal was to make him blush from his neck to his forehead–mission accomplished. Mark shrugs him off and walks in an unknown direction, Donghyuck following closely behind.

It’s only an hour into the party and Mark wants to rip off his tie and kick his shoes off, preferably at Johnny. The engagement party was going smooth so far, Taeil’s words not his. The couple were in the middle of the hall, dancing together to a slow beat. When other people begin making their way onto the dance floor, Mark feels his heartbeat race, his legs begins to bounce in nervousness. Donghyuck notices this all, grinning to himself before standing up and pulling Mark to his feet.

“W-what are you doing?” Mark stutters, appreciating the way Donghyuck’s hand fits in his own.

“We’re going to dance, silly.” Donghyuck giggles, stopping when he finds a place on the shiny tiles. “Unless you don’t want to?” Donghyuck raises his eyebrows in question, slowly wrapping his arms around Mark’s shoulders.

Mark is quick to deny his assumption, circling his arms around Donghyuck’s delicate waist and closing any distance between them.

“I’d love to,” he says, more confidently this time.

Donghyuck’s lips break out into a smile, teeth baring and eyes crinkling. Being this close to Donghyuck is so new, it’s like a breath of fresh air and Mark wants to breath all of it in for as long as Donghyuck will let him. When the music changes, a more subtle piano ballad, Donghyuck lays his head on Mark’s shoulder and he prays that the boy can’t hear how hard his heart is beating. Donghyuck feels like glass underneath him, he can sense it in the way his hands delicately lay on Donghyuck’s waist, in the gentle way he sways them. Maybe he shouldn’t treat the boy like glass, but he thinks that Donghyuck’s been treated like he’s made of concrete for years, so maybe it wouldn’t hurt to hold him more delicately, talk to him sweetly.

“Mark?” Donghyuck says in a hushed voice.

Mark hums, leaning his head on top of the boy’s.

“Why did you invite me?”

Mark frowns. “What do you mean?”

Donghyuck sighs, moving his head so Mark lifts his own off.

“You know what I mean,” Donghyuck murmurs, refusing to meet eye. “You have friends, I know you do. So why did you ask me?”

Mark chuckles. “Are we not friends?”

Donghyuck shrugs, his cheeks tinting and Mark would blame it on the lights if it was himself, but it isn’t. This is Donghyuck–pure, funny, intoxicating Donghyuck.

When the song ends, Donghyuck lifts his gaze and he looks like he’s thinking. Mark guesses he’s right about that part because then the boy is looking at him with doe eyes before asking,

“Do you wanna come home with me?”

Mark raises his eyebrows, to which Donghyuck groans and punches his shoulder.

“Not like that. I’m just tired, and–” Donghyuck stops himself, contemplating before continuing. “I don’t wanna be alone tonight.”

Mark feels his heart swell, mostly at the sight of Donghyuck being shy but because of how timid the younger is around subjects like this. It only reminds Mark of how comfortable Donghyuck is around him, it reminds him that Donghyuck trusts him, more than anyone. Mark’s sure it’s unusual, given the time they’ve known each other, but truthfully he trusts Donghyuck just the same. With one glance towards Johnny and Taeil, Mark takes Donghyuck’s hand and begins to lead them outside.

“Okay, let’s go.”

The sky tonight is near black, if it weren’t for the piercing pearl stars, Mark would think they were in complete darkness. It’s cold, Mark notices. Not so cold where the snow on the ground is stiff, the snowflakes clinging to each other like ice, but cold where Mark can see Donghyuck’s laugh from the cloud of oxygen he puffs out, see the pink spreading over Donghyuck’s cheeks and the tip of his nose.

“It’s so pretty,” Donghyuck motions to the sky.

Without looking, Mark agrees. “So pretty.”

It’s only when they’re in front of Donghyuck’s door that Mark realizes he’s never actually been to his house before. Donghyuck’s been to his house more than twice, and this is the first time Mark’s seeing his  _ front door _ . Mark can sense the tension in Donghyuck’s body as he waits for him to unlock the door. The boy’s fingers are shaking, and Mark’s not sure if it’s from the cold or from his nerves. Mark listens to his gut and reaches around Donghyuck to gently hold onto his fingers.

“It’s okay, don’t be nervous. It’s just me,” Mark whispers by Donghyuck’s ear, letting his thumb caress the younger’s hand.

Donghyuck nods, a puff of breath coming out before there’s the tell tale sound of the door unlocking. Mark knows that Donghyuck’s parents do pretty well for themselves, so he’s not surprised when Donghyuck turns the lights on to reveal a simple, modern living room. It’s clear that Donghyuck wasn’t the one who had picked out the furniture, if Donghyuck’s smile about Mark’s beanbag chair is anything to go by.

“I like it,” Mark says.

Donghyuck chuckles. “Would you like to see the bedrooms? The bathrooms? Check if the pipes are okay?”

Mark rolls his eyes playfully, poking Donghyuck’s side and earning a giggle from him.

“Can we sleep? I just want to lay down,” Donghyuck grumbles, toeing off his dress shoes.

Marks nods, following suit with his shoes before closely following Donghyuck to his room. Mark knows Donghyuck isn’t a loner, he’s heard Donghyuck talk about his friends before. Granted, he’s never heard their  _ names  _ before, so he’s a little surprised to see the clutter of pictures on his wall above a desk in the corner. His feet move to their own accord, carrying him across the carpet and eyes locking on the collage of pictures. There’s pictures of young Donghyuck, some of his friends, a boy with black hair and crescent eyes and another with light brown hair and a sweet smile. Mark finds himself smiling as well, especially when his eyes land on a picture of Donghyuck where he’s facing a body of water, an ocean he guesses, but he’s looking over his shoulder at the camera with a smile on his face.

“You done being a creep?” Donghyuck asks.

Mark turns around, ready to burn Donghyuck back but his words get stuck in his throat when he sees the boy with Mark’s shirt from awhile ago, replacing the white button-up he was wearing minutes prior. Donghyuck’s hands are engulfed by the long sleeves, legs drowned in pyjama pants, and Mark’s vocabulary has been limited to  _ Donghyuck, Donghyuck, Donghyuck _ .

“And you’re being a creep, again,” Donghyuck averts his gaze, Mark notices the blush on his cheeks.

Donghyuck points to a pile of clothes on his bed, gesturing for Mark to change. When he comes back from the bathroom, he's greeted with a deadpan expression from Donghyuck when he sees that Mark is still wearing his button-up.

“The shirt wouldn’t fit,” Mark shrugs, walking over to the bed.

“At least the pants do,” Donghyuck sighs.

“It’s a good thing you buy oversized pyjama pants, otherwise I’d have flood pants,” he teases.

His joke earns him a punch in the shoulder, his hand immediately flying up to rub at the spot Donghyuck punched.

“I’m not that short,” Donghyuck grumbles.

“Whatever you say, Hyuckie,” Mark chuckles.

He braces himself for another punch but loses his breath when he feels the soft press of lips against his cheek instead. Donghyuck’s cheeks burn and the younger dips his head and tucks his face in his shoulder. He tries not to let his shock show too much, but the soft gasp that slips from his lips abandons any shield he had.

“What was that for?” Mark asks, once his cheeks are less hot and pink.

He feels Donghyuck shrug. “Just wanted to thank you.”

“For what?”

“Jeez, Mark. Why do you ask so many questions? Can’t you just appreciate my kiss–”

Donghyuck’s rant gets cut short when Mark cranes his neck and leans down to press his lips against the younger’s, silencing his wrath. The boy responds immediately, his soft, delicate hand coming up the cradle Mark’s jaw. Mark tilts his head to deepen the kiss, slotting their mouths to kiss each other better. Mark leans forward, letting his hand fall beside Donghyuck’s head on the bed, his other hand cradling his hip. Donghyuck chases Mark lips when he pulls away, a small chuckle falling from his lips, but then Mark begins trailing kisses on his jawline, down his neck and he stops at his collarbones. The kisses are lighter now, softer and more delicate. Mark presses one more kiss to Donghyuck’s lips before dropping his body weight on top of Donghyuck and snuggling him, the younger huffing out a breath as he does so.

“Mark,” Donghyuck whines after two seconds. “You’re heavy.”

Mark only snickers, cuddling closer and dragging his nose along the line of Donghyuck’s neck.

“I’m glad you came to the corner store,” Mark suddenly says, voice thick with sleep.

Donghyuck’s body feels warm, not from the added heat of Mark’s body, but because of how happy he is. Since he met Mark, he’s never felt lonely at home even when it was just himself inside his bedroom walls. He’s pretty sure he loves Mark, but he figures he’ll save it for a rainy day. Instead, he says

“I can’t believe you went across the city to buy me Lucky Charms.”

Mark springs up from his spot in Donghyuck’s neck to shoot him wide eyes.

“You knew?”

“You left the grocery bag on the coffee table, how could I not?” Donghyuck giggles.

Mark cheeks tint and he groans, hiding his face in the younger’s neck. Donghyuck quietly gasps when he feels Mark pepper soft kisses on his neck before fully resting his head on Donghyuck’s shoulder, arms secure around his waist.

“Mark?”

Donghyuck feels the boy hum against his neck.

“I’m glad I went to the corner store.”

Mark’s asleep, but Donghyuck hopes he knows just how much he appreciates him, just how much he loves him–all without saying the words. And the next morning, when Mark wakes up to Donghyuck sleeping beside him–he does know because he feels the same way about Donghyuck.

**Author's Note:**

> lowkey had this idea when i was eating a bowl of lucky charms  
> lol here's my [cc](https://curiouscat.me/vfluttering) incase yall hate me and wanna send me something uwu


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